Telephone enclosure



July 16, 1968 R. 'r. BUSTOS TELEPHONE ENCLOSURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledOct. 14, 1964 R w m a m w V N T L m J? A R M 1 Y B M l iUHHHHHI I l l lI I Ill: I 2 V 6 o .T I |I U IHHHHHI n m ,1 1 E T I I l I I I I l I I IIM A TTOR NE Y5 July 16, 1968 R. T. BUSTOS TELEPHONE ENCLOSURE 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 14, 1964' INVENTOR. RAFAEL T. BUSTOS ATTORNEYS' United States Patent 3,393,273 TELEPHONE ENCLOSURE Rafael T.Bustos, Atlanta, Ga., assignor to Gladwin Plastics, Inc., Atlanta, Ga.,a corporation of Georgia Filed Oct. 14, 1964, Ser. No. 403,864 4 Claims.(Cl. 179-63) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOURE An enclosure for housing a cointelephone while at the same time permitting the telephone to be operatedexternally of the enclosure. A holder for the handset is mounted to theexternal part of the enclosure and connected to the handset hook sothat, when the handset is received on the holder, the handset hook willbe depressed to de-energize the telephone and, when the handset isremoved from the holder, the handset hook will be released to energizethe telephone. To permit access to the telephone, the front wall of theenclosure is removable and a key operated lock is provided to secure thefront wall in closed position against theft. The front wall of theenclosure is made in two parts, only one of which need be removed forcoin collection.

This invention relates to enclosures and, more particularly, to a novelenclosure for housing a coin telephone.

Modernizing the appearance of public telephones by conventionaltechniques is costly since it often necessitates new telephone equipmentas well as susbtantial modification of the original telephone structure.In some instances, a completely new telephone is required in order toeffect such modernization. Moreover, as a result of certain conventionalmodernization methods, operable telephone apparatus is often completelydiscarded because it cannot be incorporated into the modernizedstructure.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide anenclosure whereby the external appearance of a coin telephone may beenhanced or modernized with virtually no modification of the originaltelephone structure and without altering normal operation of thetelephone.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a telephoneenclosure that will provide added security against theft of the coinsdeposited in the telephone as well as damage to the telephone apparatusoften incident to such theft.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a telephoneenclosure which permits convenient access to the telephone formaintenance or coin collection and which may be locked againstunauthorized access simply by means of a key.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide such atelephone enclosure that may be economically manufactured with a highlydurable construction and easily applied to a telephone even at aninstallational site thereof. Included herein is a provision of such atelephone enclosure that may be employed to additionally house thetelephone bell box which heretofore has been located apart from thetelephone.

The foregoing objects are achieved by a generally boxlike enclosuredimensioned to receive a telephone and an associated bell box with thehandset cord being passed through an aperture in the enclosure so as tolocate the handset externally of the enclosure. Any desired derivativeappearance may be imparted to the enclosure and in the illustratedembodiment, provision is made for decorative side panels which may beconveniently replaced to change the appearance of the enclosure.

For supporting the handset, a holder is pivotally mounted to the frontwall of the enclosure, and a link- 'ice age connects the holder and thehandset hook of the telephone so that when the handset is placed on theholder the hook of the telephone will be depressed and the telephonede-energized, and when the handset is removed from the holder of thehook of the telephone will be released to energize the telephone.

Access to the station selecting mechanism of the telephone is providedby an aperture in the front wall of the enclosure. With telephones ofthe coin type such as that illustrated, the front wall is additionallyapertured so as to afford access to the coin insert slots and returnreceptacle of the telephone. Additionally, an arm for actuating the coinrelease plunger of the telephone is pivotally mounted to the front wallof the enclosure in overlying relationship with the coin releaseplunger.

For installation, maintenance and coin collection, the front wall of theenclosure is removable, and to lock the front wall so as to secure theenclosure against theft, a novel lock mechanism is provided. This lockmechanism is readily operable through means of a key.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparentby reference to the specification and appended claims together with theattached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a telephone enclosure, embodying thepresent invention, installed on a coin telephone, portions of which areshown in phantom;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the telephone enclosure ofFIG. 1 and additionally showing a lock key;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view of the telephoneenclosure, with a lock key and portions of the telephone shown inphantom;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of portions of the telephoneenclosure together with a bell box;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view showing a handset holder ofthe enclosure, and an associated handset hook of the telephone inphantom;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken longitudinallythrough the front wall of the enclosure showing an arm for actuating acoin release plunger illustrated in phantom;

FIG. 7 is a fragmental enlarged cross-sectional view taken generallyalong lines '77 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmental enlarged cross-sectional view taken generallyalong lines 88 of FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawings in detail, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate anenclosure generally designated 10, embodying the present invention,employed to house a telephone 12 of the conventional coin type includinga handset 14 operated through a cord 16 which also attaches the handset14 to the telephone for movement between an idle position where it restson a typical handset hook 18 and an operable position wherein it isremoved from the handset. The illustrated telephone 12 is provided withthe usual coin insert slots 20, a rotatable dial 22 for selecting thestation to be telephoned, a coin release plunger 24 for returning thedeposited coin, and a receptacle 26 for receiving returned coins.

Referring to FIG. 4, the illustrated enclosure 10 is comprised of agenerally box-like body including a base or bottom wall 3%, a pair ofparallel side walls 32, 34 upstanding from base 30, a back wall 36located between side walls 32, 34 and upstandin from base 30, and a topwall 38 extending across the upper ends of the side walls in parallelrelation to the base. The enclosure walls may be formed from anysuitable hard-wearing panels such as of plastic or metal suitably joinedtogether such as by welding or bonding. However, in the shown embodiment(see FIG. 3), top wall 38 is additionally secured to side walls 32, 34by means of a flange 40 depending from top wall 38 and fastened such asby screws 42 to a pair of elon- 3 gated ribs 44 fixed longitudinally onthe inner surface of side walls 32, 34 respectively.

In the preferred embodiment, provision is made for removably mountingdecorative panels 46 to side walls 32, 34 so as to permit the appearanceof the side walls to be conveniently altered subsequent to the initialinstallation of the enclosure. This is accomplished by elongated flanges43 of L-shaped cross-section integrally formed along the side and bottomedges of said walls 32, 34 for receiving panels 46 in the mannerillustrated in FIG. 4. Panels 46 are maintained in flanges 48 againstlongitudinal movement by flanges 50 integrally formed at the ends of topwall 38 so as to project downwardly over the upper ends of panels 46.Top wall flanges 50 are dimensioned similar to side wall flanges 48 tocomplete a uniform rectangular pattern about the margin of side walls32, 34 for ornamental purposes.

Enclosure 10 is dimensioned so that the space which it encloses issufficient to receive telephone 12 in the right hand side (as viewed inFIG. 2) of the enclosure and so as to leave a space to the left of thetelephone for receiving box 52 commonly referred to as the bell boxwhich contains a ringer mechanism and associated equipment. Securementof the telephone in the enclosure and mounting of the enclosure to awall of a telephone booth or the like is accomplished through slots andholes 54 in back wall 36. Aperture 56 is additionally provided in backwall 36 to permit various electrical wires from the telephone to bepassed outwardly of the enclosure for connection to the usual powersource.

Referring to FIG. 4, a bracket 58 having bell box mounting apertures 60is provided to secure bell box 52 in the enclosure. Bracket 58 is fixedto the inner surface of side wall 34 at the lower end thereof by meansof a pair of channel strips 62 which are attached transversely acrossside wall 34 so as to slideably receive the opposite sides 59 of bracket58 as illustrated in FIG. 4; opposite sides 59 of bracket 58 beingshaped for insertion in and retention by channel strips 62. Rib 44employed to secure top wall 38 is recessed at the lower end thereof toaccommodate bracket 58; and additionally provided is an elongated rib 64fixed longitudinally on the inner surface of side wall 34 for supportingchannel strips 62 in parallel relationship to side wall 34 as well asadding dimensional stability to side wall 34. If desired, base 30 mayalso be provided with a pair of strengthening ribs 70 which additionallyserve to space the telephone from the base.

In accordance with the invention the enclosure is completed by aremovable front wall illustrated as being formed by upper and lowerpanels 80, 82 dimensioned to be received between side walls 32, 34 andagainst a pair of elongated ribs 72, 74 which are fixed to the innersurface of side walls 32, 34 in recessed and parallel relationship tothe longitudinal front edges thereof. Referring to FIG. 3, in theassembled position, front wall panels 80, 82 abut against ribs 72, 74with the upper portion of lower panel 82 received behind the lowerportion of upper panel 80. Additionally, lower panel 82 is provided atits bottom edge with a U-shape channel 86 which receives a longitudinalrib 88 fixed on the inner surface of base 30 in the same plane as ribs72, 74 while upper panel 80 is formed with an upstanding flange 90received behind a depending flange 92 formed on top wall 38 as shown inFIG. 3. Front wall panels 80, 82 are locked in this assembled positionby means of a lock mechanism generally designated 150 to be subsequentlydescribed in detail, In th preferred embodiment, upper front wall panel80 is provided on its opposite sides with locking spurs shown (see FIGS.2 and 3) as L-shaped members 91 which are receivable in correspondingslots 93 formed in ribs 72 so as to prevent outward bowing of side walls32, 34 such as might occur in an attempted theft of the telephone.

As exemplified by the illustrated embodiment, front wall panels 80, 82may be manufactured with a desired ornamental appearance and Where thetelephone to be housed is of the type having coin insert slots 20 asshown in the drawings, upper panel is formed with a recessed ledge 94and an inclined portion 96 projecting outwardly from ledge 94 so as toclosely overlie the coin insert slots 20. Access to coin insert slots 20is provided by an elongated slot 98 formed in inclined portion 96 ofupper panel 80 to be registrable with coin insert slots 20 when frontpanel 80 is assembled.

Handset cord 16 is received through slots (see FIG. 2) formed in thelower and upper edges of front panels 80, 82 anda holder or auxiliaryhandset hook 100 is provided to support handset 14 in its idle positionand as well as to operate handset hook 18 of the telephone in responseto movement of handset 14 on and off the holder 100. As best shown inFIG. 2, holder 100 extends through an aperture 102 formed in upper panel80 where it is mounted for pivotable movement between upper and lowerpositions by a pivot pin 104 received through an intermediate portion ofholder 100 and fixed in a pair of tabs 106 projecting rearwardly fromthe inner surface of upper panel 80 on opposite sides of aperture 102.Formed at the front of holder 100 is a cradle 108 dimensioned to receivehandset 14 in the usual manner.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, movement of holder 100 is transmitted tohandset book 18 of the telephone by means of a lever 110 having one endportion engageable on handset hook 18 and having its opposite endpivotally connected to the rear end of holder 100 by a pin 112 receivedthrough apertures 114 and 116 in the holder and lever respectively.Aperture 116 in lever 110 is elongated and thus provides a lost motionconnection between holder 100 and lever 110 permitting the desiredpivotal movement of these elements.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, mounting lever 110 for pivotal movement is abracket 120 fixed to panel 80 behind aperture 102 and projectingrearwardly at 122 then upwardly at 124 and terminating in an aperturedmounting tab 126. A pivot pin 128 is received through an intermediateportion of lever 110 and secured in mounting tab 126 to complete theassembly.

Thus it will be seen that when handset 14 is removed from cradle 108 asshown in FIG. v5, handset hook 18 of the telephone will move to itsraised position under the action of its associated biasing mechanism(not shown) thereby pivoting lever 110 counter-clockwise (as viewed inFIG. 5) which in turn will pivot holder 100 clockwise to its upperposition. When handset 14 is returned to cradle 108 holder 100 willpivot counter-clockwise and will cause lever 110 to pivot clockwise tothus depress handset hook 18 to its lower position where it causesdeenergization of the telephone in the normal manner When employed withtelephones that have a coin release plunger such as plunger 24, theenclosure is provided with an actuating arm 130 overlying plunger 24 foroperating the same. In the illustrated form, =arm 130 is pivotallymounted in an aperture 132 in upper panel 80 by means of a pin 134received through aperture 136 in the lower portion of actuating arm 130with its ends fixed in a pair of mounting ears 138 projecting rearwardlyfrom the inner surface of the upper panel on opposite sides of aperture132. Depression of actuating arm 130 moves plunger 24 inwardly torelease a coin and return of actuating arm 130 is achieved by return ofplunger 24 under its associated biasing mechanism (not shown). Return oroutward movement of actuating arm 130 is limited in the shown embodimentby a plate 140 secured such as by screws 142 to arm 130 to be engageablewith the inner surface of upper panel 80 in limiting movement. v

Coins which have been returned to receptacle 26 of the'telephone may beremoved through a rectangular aperture 146 formed in the lower frontwall panel 82 in registry with coin return receptacle 26.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention,

lock mechanism 150 provided for securing front wall panels 80, 82 inassembled position, includes first and second locking levers 152 and 154movable generally laterally of the enclosure between a locking position(shown in FIGS. 7 and 8) where they are engaged behind ribs 72 and 74respectively and an unlocking position where they are retracted orspaced inwardly from ribs 72, 74. Locking levers 152, 154 are guided intheir movement between locking and unlocking positions by a pair ofclips 157, 159 fixed to the inner surface of upper panel where theyslideably receive the locking levers as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

Actuation of locking levers 152, 154 is obtained by means including arotary link 156 having its opposite ends pivotally connected by pins 158to the inner ends of locking levers 152, 154. Rotation of link 156 toactuate levers 152, 154 is achieved through a plug 160 rotatably mountedin a circular hole in upper panel by means of a lock nut 162 threadedlyreceived on a threaded in termediate portion 164 of plug 160 so as to beengageable with the internal surface of upper panel 89 as shown in FIG.3. Formed on the front end of plug 160 is an annular recess 166 defininga shoulder 168 engageable against the external face of front panel 80,which shoulder 168 together with lock nut 162 serves to fix plug 160 inthe front panel against axial movement while permitting plug 160 toundergo rotational movement.

Rotary motion of plug 160 is transmitted to link 156 by reception of theintermediate portion of plug 161 in an elongated slot 176 formed in link156; there being flats 165 formed on the intermediate portion of theplug and engageable with the edges of slot 171) as shown in FIG. 8 topreclude lost motion bet-ween link 156 and plug 160. Link 156 is securedon plug 166 by a lock nut 172 received on the inner end of plug 166which is reduced in diameter and correspondingly threaded.

Rotation of plug 160 to operate locking levers between their locking andunlocking positions is conveniently obtained by a key 176 insertable ina passage 178 formed, complementary to the key, in plug 1611.

Assuming that the telephone and associated bell box have been placedinto the enclosure in their respective positions, front panels 80, 82are assembled by placing lower panel 82 against ribs 76, 74 with itslower channel 86 receiving base cross rib 88. Handset 14 is then placedexternally of the enclosure by passing handset cord 16 through slot inlower panel 82. With locking levers 152, 154 in their retractedpositions, upper flange of upper panel 80 is then placed behinddepending flange 92 of top wall 38 and then the upper panel is pivotedinwardly until it engages longitudinal ribs 72, 74 with the lowerportion of upper panel 80 engaged against the upper portion of lowerpanel 82 and with locking spurs 91 received through slots 93. Key 176 isthen inserted in plug and rotated clockwise (as viewed in FIG. 2) toengage locking levers 152, 154 behind ribs 72, 74 to thereby lock thefront panels in place.

Access to the telephone such as for coin collection may be accomplishedby removing the lower panel 82 and in this regard a cable (see FIG. 2)may be attached to lower panel 82 and base 30 so as to precludemisplacement of the lower panel when it is so removed.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modificationsand adaptations of the structure above described will become readilyapparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the inventionwhich is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. For use as an outer housing for a telephone of the type having ahandset and a hook for supporting the handset and controllingenergization of the telephone; an enclosure comprising a plurality ofwalls defining a substantially closed chamber dimensioned to receive atelephone, holding means for supporting the handset of the telephone tobe received in the chamber, means mounting said holding means to one ofsaid walls for movement between a first position wherein the handset isreceived on said holding means and a second position wherein the handsetis removed from said holding means, linkage means connected to saidholding means adapted to be cooperable with the handset hook of thetelephone to be received in the chamber to depress the handset hook whensaid holding means is in said first position and to release the handsethook to energize the telephone when said holding means is moved fromsaid first position to said second position, said means mounting saidholding means to one of said walls including a pivot, said linkage meansincluding a lever pivotally mounted intermediate the ends thereof, oneend of said lever being pivotally connected to one end of said holdingmeans and the other end of said lever adapted to rest on the handsetbook of the telephone to be received in the chamber.

2. The enclosure as defined in claim 1 wherein said mounting meansfurther includes a bracket fixed to the inner surface of said one wall,said pivot is supported in said bracket and is received through anintermediate portion of said holding means, and said lever is pivotallymounted intermediate the ends thereof by means of a pivot receivedthrough said bracket.

3. An enclosure for housing a telephone comprising in combination, topand bottom walls, a pair of side walls, a back wall, and upper and lowerfront walls secured together to form a chamber dimensioned to receive atelephone, a holder for supporting a handset of a telephone to bereceived in the chamber and means mounting said holder to said upperfront wall, an upstanding flange affixed to the bottom wall andextending between the side Walls, said lower front wall having a bottomchannel received over said upstanding flange with the upper portion ofsaid lower front wall received behind the lower portion of said upperfront wall, a pair of elongated ribs fixed to the internal sides of saidside Walls and extending generally between said top and bottom wallswith said upper and lower front Walls engaged against said ribs, andlock means releasably securing said upper front wall against said ribs.

4. The enclosure defined in claim 3 wherein said top wall has adepending flange, said upper front wall has an upper portion receivedbehind said depending flange and further has a pair of locking spursprojecting rearwardly into the enclosure, and wherein said elongatedribs have apertures respectively receiving said locking spurs.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 183,985 11/1958 Hose 179-632,371,968 3/1945 Lum 1796.3 3,148,246 9/1964 Hannula 1796.3 3,213,21010/1965 Samples 1796.3 3,258,535 1/1966 Nawman 1796.3

KATHLEEN H. CLAFFY, Primary Examiner. H. ZELLER, Assistant Examiner.

